During President Obama’s vacation, I was driving down Middle Road in Chilmark because a portion of South Road was closed during his visit. As I was passing by the Keith Farm, the car in front of me suddenly stopped on the right side of the road.

A large dead leatherback turtle that was more than five and a half feet long washed up at Great Rock Bight beach on the north shore last Tuesday afternoon. The beach is owned by the Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank. Land bank property foreman Matthew N. Dix said the New England Aquarium was contacted, but then the turtle washed back out into the Sound.

Mr. Dix speculated that the turtle may have been killed by a boat, as it had large gashes on it that could have come from a propeller.

A 17-pound live green sea turtle found on Chappaquiddick more than a
week ago is recovering at the New England Aquarium. The turtle,
nicknamed Quiddick by a Vineyard veterinarian who first treated it, is
the first endangered green turtle recovered live from the Vineyard.

A green sea turtle named Quiddick that was rescued from the chilly waters of Cape Pogue Pond 11 months ago reentered Vineyard waters last Friday as a fully recovered wild animal.

A crew of New England Aquarium personnel, together with a veterinarian with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries service in Woods Hole, watched with pleasure as Quiddick and an even more rare Kemp's Ridley sea turtle named Kiwi moved from the beach to the surf. The release took place in the early afternoon at Long Point Wildlife Refuge, owned by The Trustees of Reservations.

The body of a leatherback turtle, a federally protected endangered species, washed ashore at South Beach on Sunday. Volunteer members of the turtle stranding committee said the cause of death was not immediately apparent.

“There was no sign of an injury,” said Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary director Suzan Bellincampi. Ms. Bellincampi said the turtle was in a state of decomposition and had likely been floating for awhile before washing ashore.

These shelled oracles have inspired much advice. Australian athlete Bill Copeland advised us to “Try to be like the turtle — at ease in your own shell.” Wise Dr. Seuss observed that “All the turtles are free – As turtles and, maybe, all creatures should be.” And a Jamaican proverb rightly notes that “Sleepy turtles never catch the sunrise.”